warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
Shadows (Snowfall)
Shadows Part four, Mission One, of Snowfall. For Silver. Waiting for December! :D Lottie hisses as she ducks back into the cupboard. A twoleg foot clomps past the ajar door, followed by many others. This could only mean one thing: the twolegs are back; and times are about to get hard. She regains her composure and pads over to me. “How is she?” she asks Cheddar, peering down at me. The cupboard is dark, and apart from the light from the corridor, the room in which we stay in is black. “Still depressed.” Cheddar sweeps his tail over the dusty wooden floor. Lottie gives me a lick on the ears. “How did she get like this anyway?” Cheddar shrugs. “Came out of her assessment like this. I took her to a safe place — here, — and came to fetch you. I couldn’t take her to the Hall, she couldn’t walk. This was the only option.” “I can see that,” Lottie meows sourly, casting her eyes across the room. “So we’re stranded here with little food and a tiny bowl of water.” She holds her gaze on the provisions Cheddar had brought back that morning. Cheddar’s fur bristles in anger. “It’s not my fault! It was like Black Friday in the cafeteria!” “What’s Black Friday?” I ask sleepily from the back of the cupboard. Lottie turns to me. “Never you mind,” she meows softly. She turns her attention back to Cheddar. “I get the picture now,” she nods. “And don’t worry; I’ll go back there in the night.” “Agreed.” Cheddar nudges the bowls of food and water towards me. “Eat up, Nuts; you need it more than any of us.” I reach forwards and scoop up some food in my mouth. It’s sausage, one of my all-time favourites, but it feels dry in my mouth. The water has the same result. “There,” Cheddar meows triumphantly. “A good meal helps to cure depression and any other negative feelings. A meal is one of the best remedies.” A siren screams, signalling the start of the school day. Cheddar had lectured me about this, so I know the schedule. I stagger to my feet. “I’m going to the cafeteria.” “No!” Lottie screeches. “It’s not safe except in the night. Plus, you need to stay here.” “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I’ll reassure her. “And if I am allowed to go and I succeed, I will tell you the full story of my depression.” Lottie twitches, stuck between both options. At last she sighs and dismisses me. “Just me safe, okay?” “I’ll be safe,” I promise her, and start running. My paws thrum against the floor in a steady rhythm as I focus on following the scent of the cafeteria. Almost there, ''I urge myself. ''I can’t give up now. I burst through the cafeteria doors. I freeze as I notice the group of Twolegs huddled around a table at the other side of the room. They haven’t noticed me yet, thank goodness. I creep over to the serving counters, pressing my body flat against the wall. Step by step, second my second. I can only hear my breath and the ticking of the clock, which is unnaturally loud. Tick, tick, tick. I dash past the serving counters. The serving twoleg is turned away from me. I have to act fast. I scramble up the counter, and snatch a few things. I don’t check to see what they are. But they were from the main meals section, so I'm fine. A twoleg yells in alarm, and I make a run for it. Soon I have about four or five twolegs chasing me, with others peeping out of the classrooms. A sweat breaks out. Time to do some parkour. I start to run along the wall. Soon, I’m high above the twolegs. I look back to jeer at them, but I lose concentration and fall to the ground. The twolegs are looming over me now. Clammy, gross hands smother me and I am left in eternal darkness. A cat yowls, its voice slightly familiar. A twoleg screams and drops me, and I slam against the floor, still unable to see. “Don’t worry, Nuts, I’ve got the food and I’m getting you back to base.” It’s Cheddar! He slings me over his back and lopes off. A twoleg is talking worriedly. I’ve been discovered. I’ve let myself and all the other cats down. I have failed my mission. “I should have never allowed you to go!” Lottie screeches. “Now we’re going to be found out by Animal Control and sent to live as kittypets.” She spits in my face. “I hate you, Nuts.” “Hey, at least we got food!” chirps Cheddar, attempting to lighten the mood. Lottie rakes her gaze over the various stuff I had bought back. “Sandwiches,” she says simply, and laughs coldly. I hang my head in shame. Lottie grabs my scruff and hauls me out. “You’re on your own now,” she growls. “If anyone deserves to be taken it’s you.” I shoot her one more challenging look, then head out on my own. The library. Go to the library. The words itch in my mind. Soon I can take it no longer and stealthily make the short journey to the library. Thank Starclan, it’s empty! I glance around for any twolegs, and run towards a computer. I log on to Admin and search the list of files for AlarmSysop. I click on it, and stare in awe at the various buttons, all with labels: Bell, Fire Alarm, and Lockdown. I finger the Lockdown button. I decide against it, then click on the Fire Alarm button. Then all hell breaks loose. Susie Waters grabbed her best friend’s wrist. Their teacher, Mrs. Lowgate, was yelling instructions to them over the noise. Susie started to cry; she hated loud noises. She caught a flash of brown in the corridor. She gasped. She had heard rumours, but she wondered if they were true. Well now they were. “Miss?” she whispered. “I think I saw something.” Mrs. Lowgate gave her a dismissal gesture. “Not now, Susie.” Susie leant over to her best friend, Martine. “I think I saw a cat,” she whispered. Martine’s eyes widened. “So the rumours are ''true after all!” She jumped up and down in excitement. “We should go after it!” Susie bit her lip. They were only nine. And somewhere out there was a fire, ready to turn them into ash. Her gaze flickered to the slightly open door. ''I guess it’s worth a look… “Stay where you are!” I yowl as I race down the corridors. “I’m getting the twolegs to leave the school so you’ll have a chance to get some food.” I hear the footsteps of a hundred twolegs and vanish behind a cabinet. I breathe heavily as I watch them go past, afraid to move a muscle. Once they are gone, I creep along the wall until I reach the cafeteria. Along the way I did notice a cat mouth something to me before heading back into its classroom, but I ignored it. I push open the double doors. The cafeteria is deathly quiet. And then I realise: it’s a trap. I turn to run, but I am too late. The floor is engulfed in shadow, and cold, clammy hands clasp around my belly. There’s no escape now.